


Friends

by FinaTeh



Category: Rimba Racer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26205853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FinaTeh/pseuds/FinaTeh
Summary: An unusual friendship in the Rimba Grand Prix was formed, but how? Tag goes to find out.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	1. AN UNUSUAL SIGHT

It had been several months since the triumphant disaster of what had happened in the final leg of the last season of Rimba Grand Prix, the tournament of race cars pitting against each other for the chance to win the coveted title of the best racer in the world. There were many racers from all walks of life, all over the world who joined the tournament for the fame and recognition of being the best. Or at least, one of the best, since competition was so tight.

However, behind the prestigious celebrations and flashes of the cameras, lied a dark and uncomfortable truth about how it all operated and who was behind it: The Ringmasters. However, the one who started the crumbling of that very foundation, the one who dared to challenge the authorities of the Ringmasters, was Tag, who, once again, had joined the RGP for the third time.

That day, there was a celebration for the new season as well as the introduction of fresh faces being held at the stage hall. Since the Ringmasters were so close to being exposed working with underground criminals like last season, they had to keep a low profile this time and start anew with their entire plan. The three rookies they had for the new season were completely clean and anonymous with no connections to them whatsoever. 

The first racer selected was a young female black swan, who had a similarity to Meika when it came to her fashion and business ventures. She started out as a model and an online influencer, but moved on to a more adrenaline-rushing interest to acquire more popularity globally. She joined the RGP alongside her boyfriend, who became her manager and spokesperson.

The second one was a youthful looking but older harlequin female rabbit, who worked as a mechanic for a long time and tried to pursue professional racing several times, especially in the RGP, but failed due to her low qualifications and lack of experience in the field. It just so happened that this year, she lucked out and managed to get a slot in the RGP. And she was recommended by a former racer who retired, so that might have played a part in her selection as well.

And the third one was an older male aardvark who came from the deep Savannah district. He had a respectable reputation as a dirt racer back in his hometown, but outside, he was still testing the waters. Though the three rookies this season wasn’t as exciting in first impressions as the previous ones, they still received a warm welcome from the audience at the press conference.

After the whole introduction on stage hosted by Torres, everyone was socializing and being friendly with each other: the reporters, cameramen, the RGP staff, the racers and the general public. Tag and his friends, Sonny, Meika, and Meelo were in their usual corner chatting it up and exchanging stories of their time away from the RGP.

“I guess Meelo’s set for life, huh? What are you even still doing here with the rest of us, buddy?” Sonny joked, nudging at an annoyed Meelo, who grumbled some silent curse words at him.

“Just because I’ve made some cash on the side, doesn’t mean I want to stop racing,” Meelo snapped with a glare. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you about that,” he mumbled under his breath.

“With all that money, you could sponsor us for life,” Tag commented slyly with mischief in his eyes.

“Back away from my money, Tag. I have plans for them and I don’t want to see a cent missing,” Meelo responded swiftly.

“Stingy as usual,” Sonny remarked as quietly as he could, but Meelo still heard it and rolled his eyes. Meika was laughing at their conversation the whole time but she stared off into the crowd all around them and a slow realization crept back into her mind.

“After all that happened last year, I’m surprised that we’re all still back here,” Meika said with a dark look in her eyes. Tag, Sonny and Meelo glanced at her at the same time, with similar expressions on their faces. Tag decided to snap out of it and frowned with a determined look in his eyes.

“We’re not done yet, and so are they,” Tag told them. “We still have a lot to uncover if we’re gonna bring them down.” He looked at them, finding assurance as they nod in agreement.

“Speaking of which, has anyone seen Tamira?” Sonny suddenly asked out of the blue.

“Knowing her, she probably would rather skip all this charade,” Meelo retorted, with a mocking tone to his voice. All of them snickered briefly, amused at the thought of Tamira trying to converse with random people. A second later though, Tag spotted something at the corner of his eyes. And his face immediately scrunched in bewilderment.

Across the hall, not too far from where they were was Tamira leaning against a small advertisement billboard. And right beside her was Axle. Just seeing them together alone was weird enough, but they seemed to be chatting. And to add to that strangeness, both of them had smiles on their faces. Tamira even seemed like she was laughing about something. This incident was a rare one, something that would probably come only when the planets aligned. Tag kept his eyes on them, baffled by what he was seeing.

A moment later, they turned away and started walking together towards the exit. Tag’s mind was suddenly alerted by this moment and his body instinctively wanted to chase after them. But thankfully, his mind and logic took over and he smartly shook off the thought, for he would have looked like a lunatic.

“Tag!”

Tag jumped in surprise, suddenly awoken by his surroundings. He looked up to see Sonny’s puzzled face staring straight at him. He shifted his eyes to the others as well and they were looking at him with the same expressions.

“W-What?” Tag asked defensively.

“You were staring off into space… Anyway, Meika and I were just wondering if you’d wanna join us at the lounge later. They always have one of those networking parties after a press conference like this. Would give us a chance to get to know the new guys too,” Sonny explained.

“Oh, uh, I’ll think about it… But more importantly,” Tag trailed off, swiftly darting his eyes left and right. He leaned towards them, as if waiting to reveal a huge secret. He paused for a good few seconds before he continued. “I saw Tamira and Axle together just now.”

All of them were silent for a moment, with Meika, Sonny and Meelo looking at each other with wide-eyed expressions. Tag anticipated similar disbelieving reaction to his. But he was let down after they reacted more indifferently.

“Okay?” “I thought you saw King.” “Interesting… I guess?” Sonny, Meelo and Meika consecutively reacted. Tag almost wanted to slap his forehead in embarrassment, but he withheld it and groaned in frustration.

“No, no, no, you don’t understand. They were chatting, and-and being friendly with each other,” Tag explained, fumbling his words.

“Sounds kinda sweet to be honest,” Meika said with a grin as she flashed her teeth.

“But… but don’t you think it’s a little suspicious? They never talked to each other for the past few years they were together in the RGP,” Tag continued to voice out his concerns.

“Perhaps Tamira just wants to appeal to Axle so he’d be more open to joining us?” Meelo questioned without batting an eyelid.

“Tamira?! Of all PEOPLE?” Tag almost shouted.

“Come on, they’re kind of… similar to each other, I guess. Serious and never smiling. Maybe they found some common ground in that. To be honest, it’s probably more effective for her to reach out to him than if we were to do it. Oof, just the thought of talking to Axle scares me,” Sonny calmed him down with light-hearted thoughts.

“Why now of all times? Isn’t it strange that this happened after King was dropped from the RGP? What if King contacted Axle and asked him for a favour and he wanted to get revenge on us for throwing him out in the desert and he wants to get some dirt on us through Tamira?” Tag spoke so fast that the others barely had time to process what he was saying. Meelo sighed and squeezed his forehead in frustration. He approached Tag with a glare.

“Instead of yelling your theories at us, why don’t you. Just. ASK TAMIRA? Jeez, my ears are bleeding as we speak,” Meelo grumbled to Tag as he turned around and started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Sonny called out to him. Meelo slowly turned around with a pouting face.

“Hearing all this talk is making me tired. I’m heading back to my room for a break. I’ll see you all tonight,” he practically grumbled, lazily waving goodbye to them as he turned back and headed to the exit.

“I guess I better take off too. Hey. Chill out, alright, Tag? See ya,” Sonny also walked away, with Meika waving goodbye to him. She turned to Tag with a comforting smile.

“Yeah, Tag. I mean things still aren’t quite resolved but it’s still too early for anything to happen yet for the new season. Trust me, I know how these things work,” she winked at him and took a step to leave, but Tag stopped her.

“Come on, Meika. You don’t really think this is… normal, do you?” Tag spoke to her in a more serious tone than he did earlier. Meika took a moment to study his face. She realized how troubled he looked.

“Hey, if we can have another ally in our fight against the Ringmasters, what’s so bad about that? And give Tamira more credit. She won’t fall for any ‘dirt-digging’ Axle might do. So take Meelo’s advice and just go ask her... Unless… you’re scared?” Meika said mischievously, with a cheeky smile on her face.

“What? I’m not scared. I’ll… I’ll go ask her right away after this!” Tag nearly shouted his answer at Meika, who could only laugh in glee.

However, Tag’s heart started beating rapidly, predicting what could happen if he did went up to her and ask what was going on without much context and without any care to his words. He formulated a plan in his head of what kind of things he should be saying to her when he meets with her later.


	2. EAGLE EYE

Tag stared at Tamira’s racer logo on the door of her private room in the Ark, with many thoughts rushing rapidly in his head. He had been standing there for three whole minutes, trying to come up with what he wanted to ‘present’ to Tamira. Why he even feel the need to do a presentation just to ask one question, he didn’t know, but that’s the feeling that she gave him most of the time when they talk. He let out a sigh, preparing to knock on the door.

Just as his fist nearly made contact with the surface, the door suddenly opened and Tamira stood where Tag almost accidentally hit her face. Thankfully, his instinct was fast enough to stop and he jumped back in fear of being scolded by her. He braced himself, shielding his face with his arms. However, a few seconds later, Tag opened his eyes and took a good look at Tamira, who had on an unimpressed, bored face.

“Yes, Tag?” Tamira asked. There was a hint of irritation in her voice, but it was nothing new from her.

“Oh, uh, hi, Tamira. I was just… you know, wondering how you’re doing, since returning and all,” Tag stuttered, grinning sheepishly as he felt a sweat trickling down his forehead out of uneasiness.

“I’m fine. I hope you’ve been doing well,” Tamira replied with a friendlier tone as she leaned back, crossing her arms. Still, her facial expression didn’t change.

“Just peachy. Thanks,” Tag’s voice was shaking.

Another few seconds passed, as Tamira seemingly waited for Tag to proceed with whatever else he wanted to say, but he was frozen in both mind and body. She rolled her eyes, lowering her arm and started to walk away, the door closing behind her. Tag finally snapped out of it and held out his hand to stop her from leaving.

“Wait, I wanted to ask you something!” Tag called out. Tamira turned around reluctantly, with a frown on her face. She wasn’t really in the mood for small talk. Tag mustered up the courage to spill it out.

“I saw you with Axle at the press conference,” Tag told her, and waited for a reaction from Tamira or at least some sort of explanation. But she didn’t flinch or react in any way.

“And?” Tamira asked with a nonchalant attitude and even started to sound impatient.

“What were you guys talking about?” Tag continued, feeling suspicious as he narrowed his eyes at her. Tamira rolled her eyes, scoffing and sighing at the same time.

“None of your business. If you’ll excuse me,” she replied hastily as she turned and walked away.

Tag obviously didn’t want the conversation to end just like that, but it was apparent that Tamira didn’t want to be disturbed any longer, and he was also still intimidated by her, especially in a circumstance where he might unintentionally offend her. He knew that if she was planning anything in their fight against the Ringmasters, she probably wouldn’t leave him out of the loop. In the end, he deduced that it might have just been nothing. He was still sort of bothered by it, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Nor SHOULD he do anything about it. He might as well just head on over to the lounge.

__________

It was still early during the networking party, with only minimal crowd hanging around the place. Tag was sitting at the bar area in the middle of the lounge, waiting for the others to show up. He looked down at his drink, a simple cocktail drink with some fries at the side. He wasn’t having much appetite that day after what he witnessed earlier.

“Hey, kid,” Miles’ voice interrupt him while he was spacing out. He turned to see him standing beside him.

“Hi, Miles,” Tag greeted Miles with a sigh.

“Everything alright? How was the conference?” Miles took a seat next to him and held up a finger to the bartender, ordering his drink.

“Oh, the usual. People go crazy over the new racers, cameras flashing everywhere, reporters wouldn’t stop talking, all that schmuck,” Tag explained in a casual manner.

“What’d you think of the new guys?” Miles asked as he received the drink.

“They’re fine, I guess,” Tag sighed again. Miles was not impressed with his answer.

“Was there something more INTERESTING that happened?” He asked in a sarcastic tone.

Right on cue, Axle came up just two seats away from Tag, who jumped in his seat, surprised. Axle glanced at him through his dark shades, slightly confused with his reaction. Nevertheless, he shifted his attention back in front, waiting for his drink. Tag was sweating at the side, going back and forth in his head whether he should ask Axle about the issue or not. Miles was beside him still waiting for an answer, and he frowned, unsatisfied with Tag’s ignorance of him.

“So, was there-“

“Axle!” Tag blurted out, which caused Axle to turn his head towards him. He seemed irritated and surprised but nonetheless, didn’t say a word. Tag widened his eyes, realizing what he did. He composed his thoughts and tried finding what to say.

“So, uh, how was your break?” Tag asked, refraining himself from shaking too much.

“Fine,” Axle muttered briefly in his usual monotonous tone, before grabbing his drink and walking away without even looking back. Tag dropped his shoulders and sighed in regret over how well his interaction with Axle turned out. A moment later, Miles interrupted him in a low voice.

“By the way, your dad wanted to talk with us later. Something about King,” Miles finished his sentence by sipping his drink.

“Oh, okay,” Tag replied with a more serious voice. Both of them sat silently for a while before Miles spoke out.

“That was really uncool.”

“Shut up, Miles.”

__________

The door to Axle’s private room opened, and he walked in feeling exhausted, after God knows how many hours he had to spend being interviewed by some people at the party. All he wanted was to do was relax and a networking party wasn’t the best place to do it. Still, it was always a good way to promote himself for the new season, even if it was just to show up and be present.

He rubbed his neck and took off his shades, throwing them onto the bed. He took off his jacket and placed them on the coat hanger, just leaving on the shirt he always wore underneath and folded the sleeves halfway. As he took a glance at the mirror and checked his face, he walked over to the bed and sat down, sinking his weight onto the bed. He rested his elbows against his thighs, staring down to the ground, letting the silence engulf the atmosphere.

There was a small lump in his pocket that he suddenly felt. Axle raised his eyebrow, wondering what it was and why it took him so long to notice it. Perhaps it was a busy day that he couldn’t really pay attention to anything else. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small crumpled paper. He unfolded the paper and read what was on it. Aside from the numbers, the name of the place stood out to him.

“LENNY’S”

He smiled as he read the name, thinking deeply about the things that happened on that night. He stood up, walked out of his room and headed somewhere he could take in some fresh air and be alone with his own thoughts. He thought back to that party, when it all started…


	3. A CHANCE MEETING

**_Two weeks ago…_ **

A dinner party at a grand ballroom in a corporate building was happening. The night was still early, as the sun had just set in the horizon. The guests were mostly members of the high society and elites, wearing their expensive suits and lavish dresses. They came in many shapes and sizes of course, but all of them most certainly looked polished and pristine. Some were hanging around the bar, some were taking samples of the food provided and most were just chatting amongst each other.

One of these many guests was a majestic eagle, a distinguished older gentleman who went by Fawkes, or Mr. Fawkes as many would call him. He had on a pair of glasses, his feather around his neck ruffled in an elegant manner and he was wearing a fitted dark blue suit. He was talking to his peers, letting out a deep laugh as they converse while next to him was his son that accompanied, trying to fight off boredom as he sighed and yawned. It was a familiar face. It was Axle.

Throughout the time they were at the party, Axle had nothing much to say. He knew no one. Most of these were friends of his father or just acquaintances that he knew through mutual contacts. It was unfortunate that he was still on a break before he would join the RGP in another few weeks or so. Until then, he had to be stuck living with his family and abide by his father’s wishes.

“So, Axle. Are you still competing in that car racing championship thing?” Axle heard one of the guests asked him which snapped him out of his blank state of mind.

“Yes,” he briefly answered. A usual type of answer coming from him, which didn’t surprise his father as he side-eyed him.

“Haha, I suppose after winning it several times, it still wouldn’t satisfy you, wouldn’t it? Like father, like son,” the guest remarked lightly and laughed, to which Axle didn’t respond to. Mr. Fawkes managed to plaster on a fake smile, to lighten the mood, but inside, there was nothing but contempt for the situation.

Another hour or so had passed and finally, the light of the end of tunnel was seen. His father was ready to leave and said his goodbyes to his friends. Axle was already waiting outside the building, leaning against the wall and checking his phone. A moment later, his father had stepped outside the entrance and glanced at him. He narrowed his eyes at him, and Axle returned the look. He sighed, nudging his head towards the limo waiting for them.

In the car, Fawkes and Axle sat side by side, looking outside the windows at the opposite ends. Axle kept his sight on the view outside, staring at the night life in the city they were residing for the weekend, Silver City. After five minutes of silence in the car, Mr Fawkes couldn’t handle the tension rising and let out a heavy sigh.

“How long are you going to be racing?” Mr. Fawkes asked, but he didn’t take his eyes away from the view outside the window. Axle glanced at his father, but didn’t turn his head.

“As long as I want to,” Axle responded, in his usual cold manner.

“You’ve got your trophies, your time in the spotlight, your fortune... I thought that would be enough to satisfy your ego. Now you’re entering for the sixth time?” Fawkes complained, raising his voice a little more. Axle frowned, feeling a little irritated that his father had to say it in a demeaning way. But he kept his eyes on the outside of the window.

“I’m a racer,” Axle answered, emphasizing his words.

“It’s time to be realistic, Axle. All these fantasies of having fame and fortune in a sport might work well when you were younger, but age is catching up with you. Those kinds of things are insignificant in the long run,” Fawkes explained in a serious tone.

“And what is significant then?” Axle finally turned his head to face his father. He felt slightly angry, but he tightened his face to control himself from emoting.

“Stability,” his father still wouldn’t look at him but he replied anyway. “At the end of the day, you’re not valuable to the sport, or to these people who are in charge of it. After a while, they’ll just spit you out when they find new blood. So you might as well quit while you’re still on top,” Fawkes advised in a similar monotonous voice as Axle’s. Axle glared at him, who still paid no attention to him.

“What am I supposed to do then?” Axle asked. After a few seconds, Fawkes finally turned to look at his son.

“You can take over some of my businesses. You’ve got those sponsorship deals. And what about your years of education? Don’t waste them,” he told him.

Axle had nothing to say. He felt angrier than before, looking at the way his father was staring at him. Not that he was doing it in a condescending way. His eyes almost had a sympathetic look to them. Axle remained quiet and leaned back against the seat and stared outside again, with a thousand more thoughts popping up in his mind.

“I understand you need some time to think. But you’ll have to make your decision sooner or later,” Fawkes ended the conversation with ominous words and with that, the ride became silent once again.

__________

Back at the suite that he stayed at with his father, Axle was outside on the balcony, leaning against the railing as he looked at the view. He had never been in the midst of this city before, but he’d always passed by whenever he was travelling. It was almost 10PM and his father had already hit the hay in his own room.

The night life of the city could still be seen beating alive, with lights from the cars passing by as well as the street and building lights scattered all around like the stars in the sky. Axle sighed, wondering what he should do. His gaze fell on the traffic below. There weren’t many vehicles on the roads at the time, as far as he could see. Eventually, an idea popped up in his head. He headed over to the door, grabbed his coat and walked out.

He went down to the parking lot, where his personal car was parked. It was an expensive sports car that he bought during his earlier racing days. Staring at it, he still treasured it since the first time he set his eyes on it, just as much as he would his racing car, the Falcon Mach-1. He got in and started the engine, pressing the accelerator and taking off without any hesitation.

Axle drove and drove, until an hour had passed. The feeling of being behind the wheel, especially at a high speed filled him up with comfort. A soothe to his soul after that conversation he had with his father. Despite not knowing the area, he made sure not to stop for too long at any junction. Keeping up the momentum was part of the thrill.

All of a sudden, he suddenly felt something wrong with his car, as he heard the sound of something bursting behind him. The car’s body started to move in an up and down motion. After a few seconds, he decided it was better to pull over to the curb and take a look at what was wrong with his car.

After getting out, he walked over to the back, immediately noticing the cause. His rear tire on the driver’s side was completely flat, causing the body of the car to be lowered at the back. He knelt down and examined the tire. After a minute or so, he gathered that it must have been punctured somewhere along the road. He stood up and looked around. He was by a couple of shop lots that looked either closed or abandoned, the street lights were dim and there was no one walking around to help him.

He let out a long sigh of frustration. He walked over to the back of the car and sat down on the curb. His hand reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He pressed the button repeatedly, but eventually, he realized that his phone’s battery had died. Seeing this, he felt another heavy weight suddenly being piled on top of another and he groaned in aggravation.

__________

**_Present day…_ **

“So that’s about it for King.”

Tag and Miles were both in the garage after the party at the lounge as they watched the tablet monitor display, with a live video feed of Riq on it. Riq had contacted Tag to give him some updates on his search for information regarding the Ringmasters and King’s whereabouts. As well as just saying hello and asking how his son was doing for the first day.

“Man, that sounds really sad,” Tag remarked, almost in a sympathetic manner.

“Ice fishing and driving delivery trucks up in the snowy Northern Mountains? He’s hit a new low,” Miles shook his head, agreeing with Tag’s reaction.

“Whatever the case is, we shouldn’t let our guard down. King’s still in hiding, but there’s a possibility that he could come back. He might still have friends in high places that we don’t know about,” Riq reminded them, in his usual serious tone. Tag nodded in agreement, while Miles looked on, frowning. Riq sighed, closing his eyes, wanting to move away from the heavy topic.

“So, how’s the new season looking up, kid?” Riq put on his fatherly persona. Tag leaned back on his chair, feel a little tired of answering the same thing to everyone.

“It’s great, I guess. I mean, it’s always nice to be back,” he answered, feeling kind of blasé about it. “It was kinda weird to see Tamira and Axle talking to each other though,” he almost whispered that sentence as if he didn’t mean to blurt it out, with Miles glancing at him, confused to what he was talking about.

“Tamira and… Oh, right. I guess they must have gotten to be friends since that time,” Riq muttered casually, but Tag was so flabbergasted with what his father had just said that he jumped off his seat and landed on the floor, to Miles’ shock. Tag quickly stumbled back from the floor and leaned towards the tablet screen.

“What do you mean, THAT time? What happened? How do you know about it!?” Tag burst out in what sounded like a panic crying, but mostly he was just incredibly curious and needed to know what was going on.

“I met with Tamira about a week ago and she told me about it. She happened to come across Axle while she was out at night in the city,” Riq explained, but Tag wasn’t satisfied with the answer.

“Oh come on! Give me all the details. From start to finish!” He exclaimed, to which Miles raised his eyebrow in puzzlement. Riq didn’t know whether to feel amused or confused by Tag’s over-excitement, but regardless, he was happy to share whatever stories he had to his son.

“It’s kinda hazy from what she told me but I’ll try my best.”

__________

**_Back to two weeks ago…_ **

Tamira was riding on her motorbike at night in the city. She was heading home after a long day running errands and settling some matters. She rode her bike going through the lower parts of the city, where she resided. All she wanted to do was just relax at home and sleep after a long day. Tomorrow, she could start preparing and making her arrangements to get her race car fixed up and modified for the new season of the RGP which was coming up soon.

She was only five minutes away from home when she saw a car up ahead stopped at the side of the road. What stood out to her was the type of car it was. It was an expensive sports model that rarely anyone in the neighbourhood would possess. Not only that, there was someone who looked familiar sitting behind the car. She immediately recognized it was Axle. That sight alone was curious enough for her to stop by the side of the road.

Axle meanwhile, had been sitting on the curb for well over five minutes, thinking heavily on what he should do. No vehicles were passing by, and no one was walking around, making the atmosphere feel even more isolating. If it weren’t for the street lights, this would have been a more anxiety-inducing situation. With his phone battery dead, he had no means to call anyone for help as well.

He noticed suddenly that someone on a motorbike had stopped right across the road. The person had their helmet on as they were getting off their bike, but he noticed that it was a woman. He was intrigued by the presence, but at the same time he didn’t let his guard down, fearing it could be someone who wanted to threaten him. However, he heard a voice coming from her that immediately broke down that protective wall.

“Axle?”

It was Tamira’s voice, which threw him off, as he didn’t expect to see a familiar face in a place unknown to him. She took off her helmet, holding it to her side and walked towards him, with her usual cold face, but she did seemed concerned as well. She stopped and stood in front of him.

“Tamira,” Axle found himself saying her name. For some reason, it made him feel relieved, because of how lost and alone he felt at the time.

“What are you doing here?” She asked him. Seeing Axle strangely didn’t upset her, even though they did go against each other quite a lot in the previous seasons. She had no personal vendetta against him so why should she?

“I was in the city, and just felt like driving around,” Axle replied in his usual serious manner.

“I meant, why are you at the side of the road?” Tamira responded, almost feeling humoured by his answer.

Axle realized what she meant and became frustrated once again since he was reminded of the situation he was stuck with. He didn’t even want to bother talking, and just pointed with his thumb to the flat tire and rested his head against his other hand. Tamira looked over to the direction of where he pointed and got her answer. She walked over to the completely flattened tire, squatting down and stared at it for a moment. After a few seconds, she turned her attention to him.

“Got a spare?” She asked.

“Not really. Otherwise I’d be gone by now,” Axle answered with a sigh.

Tamira stood up, maintaining her eyes on him. She glanced at the car and wondered what to do for a moment. She had an idea and decided to help him out, despite feeling tired from the day. She walked over and stopped in front of him, which made him look up to him with a wide-eyed expression, curious to what she wanted.

“There’s a workshop not too far from here,” Tamira suggested as she pointed to her bike, gesturing to him to go along with her.

Axle straightened his body up, with his attention fully awakened by this random incident. But he had some doubt hovering in his mind and remained silent, sceptical about her intentions. But Tamira didn’t really falter at his lack of response.

“I know this area so don’t worry about it. But it’s not safe for you to hang around this place at this time of the night so you should come with me,” Tamira reassured him as she walked back to the bike, as if not leaving any other options for Axle.

He hesitated for another few seconds, before sighing in surrender. He got up and brushed off the dust at the back of his pants, following Tamira to her bike. Though he wasn’t expecting a detour in this unfamiliar place and having to leave his car behind, meeting up with Tamira was somehow lifting another weight off his shoulder and he was thankful enough to do as she said.


	4. AN UNWELCOMED TASK

About five minutes riding on her motorbike, Tamira finally came to a stop in front of a warehouse garage with the door closed. She parked her bike nearby and got off, which prompted Axle to do the same. He frowned at the sight of the area, with the other warehouse lots looking more abandoned than the road that his car was at. He followed Tamira, feeling wary of the situation.

“You sure it’s here? Everything looks closed,” Axle asked her, feeling doubtful. Tamira glanced behind at him, with a hint of smugness on her face. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been here a million times.

“It’s opened. Especially if you have some ‘off-the-record’ job you need done,” Tamira explained as they approached the garage door.

“So, it’s illegal?” Axle’s eyes narrowed, wondering if he should just back away now.

“It’s not if you don’t get caught,” Tamira looked back at him with a smile. It was fun to see someone who was new to this world react to everything. She knocked on the metal door a few times, as the noise rung through the alleyway. Axle was on alert, because the place was giving him a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

A couple of seconds later, the door is lifted up and a figure stood in front of them. He was an older, male wolverine, with dishevelled, grease-stained fur on his face and the rest of his body as well. He was wearing stained overalls, with a dirty shirt underneath to match. His expression completed the whole package, a grumpy sulk, as he gritted his sharp teeth. Axle was definitely taller than him, but even he was intimidated by this presence in front of him.

“Ah, Tamira. What brings you here in the middle of the night?” The guy grumbled as he walked back towards the inside of the workshop. Tamira walked and started to follow him. She waved her arm to Axle, asking him to come along as well, to which he hesitantly did.

“Jimmy, you’re open. Don’t try to act like your evening is disturbed,” Tamira responded, rolling her eyes. The wolverine, whose name is apparently Jimmy or Jim, grumbled but didn’t say anything comprehensible.

Axle looked around and saw that it was a surprisingly big workshop that had been busy for quite a bit. There were a few tool stations around, and a few cars with its hood opened in a section at the back. One of them actually seemed like a new model out on the market, but with some modifications done on the body as well as the engine, probably.

“I’ve got a flat tyre down by the 6th street in front of the pawn shop. Can you take care of that?” Tamira asked as Jim settled himself, leaning against a trolley with his tools on top.

“Gee, of course I won’t,” Jim muttered to which Tamira groaned in frustration. She honestly didn’t want to be here tonight, because she knew Jim would bring up something that would be a pain in the neck for her.

“Oh come on, I told you I’d pay as soon as I get the money,” Tamira exclaimed, throwing her hands to the air.

“Where’s all that RGP cash, huh?” Jim snidely commented.

“I burned through it, okay? I’m kind of low right now,” Tamira answered, feeling a little bit pushed back. Jim shook his head with a smile while Axle stood silently not knowing if he should pipe in or remain still as a statue.

“I’m not even asking for myself. It’s my friend’s car. Help him out,” Tamira pleaded slightly, pointing to Axle who stood uncomfortably by her side. Jim glanced at Axle whose expression was unchanging. After a few seconds of just staring which eventually made Axle become a bit uneasy, he let out a scoff of amusement.

“I’m not doing any favours for you or your friends until your tab’s clear,” Jim stated bluntly, crossing his arms. Axle saw the opportunity to intervene and spoke out.

“If it helps, I’ll pay for my car and… whatever she’s got as well,” Axle stepped forward, trying to diffuse the situation. Tamira turned her head to him fast with a baffled expression, feeling somewhat insulted for no reason and took a step towards him.

“I’ll handle this,” Tamira looked at Axle with ice cold look in her eyes, which caused him to think twice and refrain from saying anything else. She turned back to Jim, tired of his attitude.

“Well, is there anything I can do?” She asked. Jim stared at the ground momentarily, pondering in his mind on what things he could make her do. Then, he got an idea.

“There is something,” he trailed off as he walked away towards somewhere else in the workshop.

He went over to a cabinet at the back and pulled out something from a drawer. It was a tracking device with a small screen and a photograph, which he walked over and slowly handed over to Tamira. She could only stare at them with confusion.

“It’s a rock,” she stated briefly, referring to the photograph. What was she supposed to do with this?

“It’s a piece from a meteor rock a personal friend sent to me from the jungles of Zarona. Rare and expensive stuff. I was planning on selling it in the ‘market’ or find a buyer but someone broke in here the other day and stole it. Fortunately, I put a tracker on the rock. It’s in the Ashton apartment by Juvie Street. Probably on the 23rd floor based on the tracker,” Jim explained.

“So? What do you need me for? File a report to the police,” Tamira asked, feeling more and more impatient. Jim snickered in delight, which irritated her more and more.

“You kidding? I take one step on the station and they’ll start asking about my late night ‘activities’. Nah, nah, if you want to clear your debt, then find that rock and return it to me. I’ll get your friend’s car and fix it up. But if you don’t come back with the rock, I’m keeping the car,” Jim suggested a deal.

Tamira and Axle looked at each other. He felt a little perplexed, seeing as he could just settle this without going through all the trouble, but for some reason, he didn’t want to argue with her. Tamira on the other hand, just tried to look for answers in his eyes but came up with nothing. She eventually sighed, giving up on trying to find any other options and turned to Jim.

“Fine, I’ll go. But the car had better be here when I get back,” Tamira warned before taking off. After a few steps, she was reminded of why she was there in the first place. She turned around and saw Axle looking confused and blank as he stood there silently next to Jim.

“You can wait here, if you want,” she told him in a shaky tone, feeling unsure.

Axle hesitated, his mind thinking of what to do and he looked over to Jim. He flashed a sharp toothy grin at him with an unsettling look in his eyes, which made Axle feel a creep going up his spine. He turned back to her with slightly fearful look in his eyes.

“I’ll… go with you,” Axle said reluctantly as he started walking towards Tamira, wanting to follow her out and be anywhere but there.


	5. BREAKING AND ENTERING

Tamira and Axle arrived at a tall apartment building about fifteen minutes away. The building itself stood out, looking more well maintained and better designed than most of the structures in the area. Axle stared at it as they walked up to the entrance of the lobby. In his mind, he assumed some random billionaire probably donated some money to build a high rise apartment in the middle of a ghetto neighbourhood. But his mind quickly went back to focus on what they were doing. Tamira was fiddling with a small tablet in her hands and put it away as they reached the door.

As they entered the lobby, they headed straight for the elevators. Tamira was walking rather calmly, which baffled Axle, since they were supposed to be sneaking around to steal something. As they wait for the lift to come, he stared at one of the CCTV’s and decided to speak up about his concern.

“Aren’t we supposed to be keeping a low profile?” He asked, with the quietest voice he could muster, which wasn’t that hard for him.

“I’m friends with Meelo, remember? He taught me a lot of tricks… like how to mess with security feed,” Tamira responded, confident with herself. Axle could only glance at her, narrowing his eyes, feeling unconvinced but he knew that she was a capable person when she needed to be and kept quiet.

“Anyway, you didn’t have to come along,” she sounded annoyed as she looked up to the elevator number going down to the ground floor where the lobby was. Axle pouted, feeling a little unwelcomed.

“And stay with that mechanic? No thanks,” he remarked sneeringly, which amused her.

“Yeah, Jimmy has a way with people,” for some reason, he could even hear a semblance of a laughter trying to come out when she talked, but it sounded more like a cough. The elevator arrived shortly and they walked in as Tamira pressed the button.

There was a moment of awkward silence hanging in the air as they focused on their own thoughts and space. Tamira was looking at the number going up and Axle just stared at the wall of the elevator beside him, waiting for the lift to stop.

“You know, this reminds me of that time we were in a lift together at the Ark,” Tamira suddenly said out of nowhere. Axle turned his head, a memory of it flashing in his mind as well.

“Why did you tell me about King at that time?” Tamira’s eyes was fully focused on Axle as he stared back, bewildered with this confrontation. But she wasn’t aggressive about it. It sounded like a genuine, curious question. He sighed, closing his eyes as he tried to find the answer in his mind.

“I guess it was because I knew what he was like. And I always thought working with King would be too low for someone like you. So I just had to speak out. Hmph, it didn’t matter anyway, I was already right,” Axle muttered the last reply with a small smile on his face. Seeing this, Tamira raised her eyebrow, confused with the display of a positive emotion from him. She shifted her attention back to the door of the lift, feeling herself smiling as well.

“For someone so cold, at least you have a conscience,” she remarked.

Axle stared at her with a frown, unamused with her comments. However, a moment later, his annoyance dissolved upon being more surprised with the realization that she had more sense of humour than he initially assumed. He didn’t know what to feel about it, so he just stayed quiet, thinking of any response to her assumption of him. But before he could say anything, they arrived to the designated floor. Tamira stepped out, with Axle right behind as she followed the tracker on the device. They walked along the corridor, passing by doors to the units.

“What if there’s someone in the apartment?” Axle suddenly asked, with worry in his voice.

“Then, we’ll just have to deal with it,” she responded curtly.

Axle couldn’t understand her response. This was not a situation he was used to and he was starting to feel himself becoming tense. They stopped in front of one of the doors as Tamira gazed at the tracking device’s monitor in her hands, scrunching her face. She looked up to see the door and then turned to Axle.

“It’s here,” she told him as she knelt down to the door knob’s level and took out something from her pocket. It was a hair pin and she stuck it inside the keyhole. Watching all this, Axle couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Really?” He remarked sarcastically. He thought it looked like a scene from a movie and he couldn’t believe he was in one right now.

“Hey, it works most of the time,” Tamira responded without looking back at him.

And lo and behold, there was an unlocking sound that came out and she stood up, pausing for a moment as she glanced at Axle with a determined face. All she wanted to do was get this over with but from this moment on, she had to be careful. She grabbed the door knob and opened the door as slowly as she could to minimize the noise. After making sure that no one was there inside the unit, she relaxed and walked in with Axle behind her. She shifted her eyes to the device and then again looked all over the apartment. She walked over to a room on the right.

“It should be in there somewhere. Just wait by the door and keep an eye out in case anyone comes in,” Tamira quickly ordered Axle.

She hastily looked around and opened some drawers and shuffled around, doing her best to find the stupid rock. Axle’s anxiety kept rising as he switched his sight between the main door and Tamira. His fingers kept tapping on his bicep more and more while he was crossing his arms as time went by.

“Is this something you normally do?” Out of the blue, he asked Tamira, just to ease his anxiety.

“Yeah, so don’t worry,” she reassured him briefly. She had no time for small talk.

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Axle made a remark that actually got Tamira’s attention as she glanced at him, slightly irritated. But she continued to search, bending down to look under the bed.

“I guess being involved in criminal activities is something you’re used to,” Axle however continued to comment. This time, Tamira actually stopped and glared at him.

“Big talk for someone who was involved in fixing races,” she fired back, keeping her eyes on Axle as she opened the door to one of the closets.

“At least I’m not a lowlife thief,” he responded harshly. At that point, something inside Tamira finally snapped and she turned her attention completely to Axle, gritting her teeth in anger. Axle realized what he had just said, and froze himself in regret and fear.

Just as she was about to fire back, something caught her attention at the corner of the eye. It was a crack in the wall, covered with a cheap looking painting just right next to the door where Axle was standing. She walked over quickly to the painting, taking it off the wall and her eyes brightened up.

The rock she was looking for was stuffed into the gap in the wall the painting was covering up. She grabbed it quickly and looked at it, making sure it was the one she was looking for. As she confirmed it, she put it in her jacket’s inner pocket, hung up the painting back where it was and walked out the door past Axle.

“Let’s go,” she told him. Axle felt a bit blurred by what had just happened, but his mind slowly caught up and he followed Tamira out the door.

The ride down to the lobby was awkward and silent, with the tension from their previous exchange still lingering between them. Tamira was crossing her arms and looking to the wall on her side. Axle did the same, his body facing the other way, but he glanced at her, trying to read her expression. She looked serious as usual, but other than that, there was nothing else apparent.

Though she didn’t show it, this unusual silence after their pleasantries in their last lift ride was a stark difference and he assumed that he had actually triggered something inside of her. Tamira was indeed a bit hurt from what he had said earlier, but it wasn’t as if she expected any more from him so she bottled down her anger and kept her mouth shut.


	6. A WILD RIDE

As their elevators arrived to the lobby, Tamira and Axle quickly walked back to the entrance heading towards the parking lot where she parked her bike. Just as they arrived to the door, a few figures stood in front of them and they stopped in their tracks. There was a short, well-dressed male rat in a bright, colourful suit with a fedora hat and a few other bigger rats with shades on wearing vests showing off their biceps, presumably the bodyguards. Tamira recognized who they were and groaned in silence.

“Well, well, well, look who it is,” the smaller one, presumably the leader, muttered in a weird accent with a slimy smile shown on his mouth.

“Rat King,” she responded, unimpressed. Axle looked to her, confused.

“Rat King?” He asked.

“Just some wannabe mafia boss,” she whispered to him.

“Fancy seeing you here, Tamira… And your partner in crime for the evening, apparently. Finding you sneaking around my place was such a lovely surprise,” the Rat King remarked sarcastically.

“How’d you know?” Tamira asked, still unfazed.

“I have my own private security system in my apartment, separate from the building’s own network… And here I thought I could enjoy a night out without someone trying to steal from me,” he sighed in a mocking way.

“You stole it first,” Tamira fired back.

The Rat King chuckled, seemingly amused by the whole situation, but she wasn’t having it and kept glaring at him. Axle, who was watching this whole exchange, was amazed that she wasn’t even having an ounce of fear, at least visible to him. While he was trying to compose himself silently.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is who’s gonna go down first. And I have the numbers,” the Rat King snapped his fingers and his subordinates stepped forward with intimidating poses. At this moment, Tamira finally showed a little bit of submission as she took a step back, with Axle losing his composure at her side.

“Tamira,” he called out to her, urging to her to decide the next course of action. In a split second, she told him.

“Run,” as she grabbed his wrist and turned around towards the back entrance, dragging him along as he started to follow in her steps and ran with her as they make their way.

The rats started to chase after them, with one of them carrying their leader on his back. They exited quickly, taking a breather as Tamira looked around at the residential parking area. She saw the opening where the vehicles exit and pointed at it while simultaneously running towards it at the same time.

“This way,” she told him and they head towards the outside parking area where her motorbike was, with the rats tailing right behind them.

About a minute later, they arrived at Tamira’s bike and she hastily got on without even putting on her helmet. Axle got on to the back seat clumsily and almost fell off as she suddenly accelerated without any warning.

“Hey, watch it!” Axle cried.

“No time to be careful,” Tamira replied with a casual tone.

She glanced behind to see the rats on their own bikes as well, with the Rat King in a sidecar attached to one of them. It looked like they were going to be in a chase. Tamira sighed and focused on the road ahead of them, thinking of how to lose their trail.

The streets were busy with some vehicles passing by, but nothing too heavy that they couldn’t get through as they rode past several cars with ease. However, Axle was just getting used to being on the motorbike at normal speed since he had never been on one before tonight. Now he had to endure a fast speed the bike was travelling at. Not that going fast was anything unusual for him, but being on a moving vehicle without any protection of him from falling off was a different experience altogether. He held on tight, grabbing Tamira’s shoulders as she swerved in between the cars and other vehicles. The thugs were not too far behind them, after Axle took a look.

“They’re right behind us!” Axle warned her with a loud shaky voice.

“I know, shut up!” She snapped, focusing her eyes on the road.

After several turns through a few busy streets, they finally managed to get to a quieter neighbourhood with barely any moving vehicles around, where it might be easier to increase the distance between them. A moment later, she saw a three way junction to the front and to the right. She accelerated to go straight ahead, but suddenly out of nowhere, a few kids were crossing the road. Tamira was startled by the sight and instinctively steered to the right exit. The motorbike leaned close to the road as they turned and Axle grew panic in the situation.

“Whoa! Slow down!” He yelled, feeling a little angry and fearful. But Tamira ignored his complaints.

“Should’ve gone straight just now!” She exclaimed.

“What? Why?!” Axle asked in an alarmed state.

“Because there’s a-“

Suddenly she swerved the motorbike on the side, pressing the brake on her bike. As the bike was trying to skid to a stop, it left dust and debris flying all over underneath them. After several seconds, they finally stopped, with the bike tipping to the other side from the momentum. Axle could finally catch his breath, but wondered what that was all about.

“Dead end,” Tamira finished her sentence with a sigh as she looked up in front of them.

Axle followed her eye line and saw what the cause was. It was a wired fence, about three metres high. There was no way for them to reach that height with the bike unless there was a ramp to elevate them over it. And unfortunately, there was none around there. Axle let out a long, hard exhale, not knowing whether to feel either more upset or panic.

“Great, now what?” He remarked cynically.

A moment later, they heard a couple of motorcycle engines arriving behind them. Tamira turned her attention towards them and anticipated for the arrival of those Rats she dreaded having to confront. Axle meanwhile, had a million thoughts in his head, but mostly about whether he’d get out of there alive at all.

“I didn’t want to have to do this,” Tamira muttered under her breath, but Axle heard every word, and was baffled as to what she had meant.

The Rat King got out of his sidecar and brushed off some dirt from his suit, fixing his fedora hat. His underlings followed suit, parking their bikes and getting off, backing their boss up from behind. He flashed them a threatening smile with the buck tooth sticking out.

“Look who’s caught in a trap,” he mocked Tamira. He let out a laughter, which prompted the others to join in as well, much to her annoyance.

She jumped out of her seat and stood facing the Rats, looking surprisingly confrontational, given the circumstances did not look good for her. Axle didn’t know what she was trying to do, but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything at that moment other than watch. Tamira swiftly grabbed a metal bar that was attached at the back of her bike and pulled it out forcefully. She spun it around her fingers and grasped it tightly in the end.

Both Axle and the Rat gang looked at her with confused expressions, wondering what the heck she was doing. Tamira slowly walked forward, taking one step at a time towards the Rats. She slowly looked intimidating, with a dark look in her eyes.

“You know, cats don’t get caught in a trap. Mice do. Or in this case,” Tamira flashed a smile. “A bunch of rats.”

That line made the Rats rethink about what they were doing as all of them started to back away. But the Rat King was still putting up a front, gritting his teeth as if trying to scare away Tamira. He pointed towards her swiftly with a shaky hand.

“G- Get her!” He yelled out to his friends, who proceeded to run towards Tamira.

As they ran towards her, Tamira showed her true colours. She was swift and agile, dodging their attacks, and started to swing the metal bar left and right and hitting the Rats one by one. Eventually, everyone was down on the ground, knocked over and in pain after getting brutally beaten by her. The only one who was still standing was the Rat King, and he definitely had a reason to be frightened because of his small physique compared to his subordinates who were now defeated.

Tamira threw the metal bar up in the air as it spun and she caught it once again, all while she was walking towards the Rat King, flashing a cocky smile. All the while, the Rat King cowered in fear as he slowly backed away. But, out of nowhere, he glanced behind her and smiled. Tamira noticed this and turned around quickly to see one of the Rats holding a plank and swinging it to her head. She let out a small gasp, not having enough time to react.

However, just as the plank of wood was about to hit her face, the guy was hit on his head from behind. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open with the tongue sticking out, and he fell down to the ground and landed flat on his face. Tamira stared at him, puzzled with what just happened.

Her eyes shifted upwards and her question had been answered. Axle was standing with her helmet in his hands with a somewhat blank yet tense expression. Tamira assumed he had knocked out the guy with the helmet. She stood up and turned to face Axle. She caught a glimpse of his hands shaking while gripping the helmet tightly. It made her want to chuckle in amusement but she reminded herself quickly that he had saved her. She patted his arm in gratitude.

“Thanks,” she thanked him briefly but genuinely.

The Rat King, witnessing all this, turned around and started to run, but Tamira quickly grabbed him by the collar of his jacket at the back and threw him to the wall at the side. He collided on his back and slid to the ground, groaning in pain. Before he could recover, she grabbed him by his shirt collar and pinned him against the wall. She was calm, but there was a hint of fire in her eyes. Axle stood by her side, keeping a look out on the other Rats in case they tried to attack again.

“Cut the tough guy act. I knew you when you were a snot-faced loser… Timothy,” Tamira muttered in a low, threatening voice.

“Wha- What do you want?” He nervously fired back, but there was no sign of intimidation from him at all.

“I’m leaving with the rock, the one YOU took from my friend,” she continued. “Now, you can go cry to your friends and retaliate. But I’ve got friends too and they’re much, MUCH worse than I am. So let’s forget about all this and be on our merry ways, shall we?”

The Rat King, or Timothy, hesitated to answer, but he could see that he was on the losing side, as he looked over to his friends on the ground and they looked like they didn’t want to go through the beating again. He looked back at Tamira and nodded rapidly in agreement. She smiled, feeling satisfied with herself and threw him to the ground and crossed her arms.

The Rat King whistled to his underlings and they quickly got on their bikes and left as fast as they could. Both Axle and Tamira watched them closely until they were no longer in sight. After a few seconds of their disappearance, she finally walked back to the bike, and Axle was right behind. She got on, and Axle handed her the helmet. She smirked, amused with what had happened earlier.

“Not bad, for a guy who was complaining the entire night,” she joked with sarcasm laced heavily in her voice.

“Yeah, well, remind me not to get on your bad side,” he responded with his own remark. Tamira firmly put on her helmet and glanced at him with an unimpressed expression.

“Who says you haven’t?” She joked, letting out a small chuckle. Axle paused for a moment and scoffed in humour. He got on to the back seat and they both rode off.


	7. THE CONVERSATION

“Hey, Jimmy!”

Back at the workshop, Jim turned around and grabbed a flying object hurled towards him. He managed to clasp it in his palms and opened up his hands to look at what it was. His face brightened up as he saw the space rock. After a few seconds of just staring at it, he finally looked up and saw Tamira and Axle approaching him, looking exhausted but still with energy in their walks.

“Well done,” Jim casually told her and he kept the rock in his overalls’ pocket.

“We almost got beat up by a bunch of thugs,” Axle couldn’t help but rant.

“Keep that thing locked up and sealed somewhere,” Tamira added, tired with everything. Jim raised his hands up and shrugged.

“Alright, alright. Anyway, I’ve got your car,” he motioned to them to follow him to the back part of the workshop. When they arrived, Axle paced towards the car, seemingly baffled and horrified. He looked all over the vehicle, turning his head to the left and right.

“What happened?” Axle asked in a louder voice than he usually talks with.

Tamira looked at him, wondering why he was upset and shifted her eyes to the car. As soon as she looked harder, she got her answer. Somehow, the car had received more damage than before. Aside from the flat tire, there was some visible deep scratches at the doors, a graffiti sprayed across, one of the sports rim on the good tires was missing and even a window shield has a noticeable crack across it. Jim scratched his head in sympathy, but he let out a laugh.

“My guess is just some dumb kids… or a few people who smoked something,” he commented in a joking manner. “They were probably messing around, ya know, and a nice car like yours was like a blank canvas to them.”

Axle was obviously not amused but all he could do in the end was sigh, surrendering to the situation. Jim patted his back, trying to comfort him. Though he couldn’t really do it that seriously and still let out a chuckle.

“I’ll get it all fixed by morning. No extra charge, pal,” Jim offered sympathetically. He walked over to his tools on one of the stations. After he picked up a wrench, he looked over to see Tamira and Axle still standing around, as if they were going to wait for him until dawn. He sighed while rolling his eyes, feeling his grumpy persona taking over again.

“I work better on my own,” Jim coughed as he told them. He crossed his arms, not budging from where he was standing.

“Fine, we’ll be back in the morning,” Tamira replied with a shrug as she turned back towards the garage door. She stopped after a few steps and looked over to Axle, who was still staring at his car with a solemn look in his eyes.

“Come on, Axle,” she called out to him, and waited for him to move. Axle sighed with a heavy heart, nodding and followed her out the door. As they walked towards her bike, he frowned and shifted his eyes to her, concerned and worried for his vehicle.

“I don’t know about this,” Axle voiced out his worry, scrunching his forehead even deeper. Tamira looked back at him, and smiled in humour.

“Jimmy’s good. I’ve known him for nearly a decade. Even though he can be a pain sometimes, his work’s really solid. And he never turns his back on a job,” she reassured him as they approached her bike.

She rested her arm against the handle and turned to Axle. He was puzzled, wondering if she wanted to say anything. She shifted her eyes to the ground, thinking about something for a moment, before looking back at him with an uncertain expression.

“Wanna go get a drink or something?”

The question Tamira asked Axle was not something he thought he’d hear from her, especially directed towards him. And he usually wouldn’t be one to go out to have drinks especially this late at night. But after all the commotion that they went through, a drink was what he needed.

“Sure.”

__________

Later, Tamira and Axle were both sitting on stools at the bar where the bartender was. They went to a pub called Lenny’s after being at the workshop. The pub was still lively late at night, with many patrons hanging around and the bartender, as well as the waitresses, were working actively trying to serve them. The pub itself was nothing too fancy, but there was a nice, warm atmosphere all around that felt welcoming. The bartender came over and served them two tall glass of beer. Tamira grabbed hers and took a sip, while Axle, facing the other way, just took his and held it, staring at it as he swirled the beer around.

“Admit it. Tonight was fun, wasn’t it?” Tamira turned to Axle, with a cheeky smile on her face. Axle narrowed his eyes, his serious persona still visible.

“We could have died,” he answered with a deadpanned expression, staring back at her. She didn’t falter and kept on her smirk. After a few seconds, he gave in and ended up smiling as well.

“Yeah, I guess it was,” he muttered with a low voice, as if he didn’t want her to hear him agree. “You’re pretty good on the bike.” Tamira was surprised at his compliment, but she brushed it off.

“I’m better in a race car,” she joked, but maintained her casual, calm tone as she looked ahead at the bar beyond the counter. Axle shook his head in humour.

“Where’d you learn to fight like that anyway?” He asked, tilting his head slightly in curiosity.

She shifted her eyes to him, wondering what she should answer based on the expression she could read from his face. She thought that he seemed genuine enough to want to know. But she felt too closed off towards him to reveal every detail of her life, at least for now.

“I guess trying to survive in a bad place for a long time made me learn many things,” she replied briefly and took another sip of her beer, looking more serious than a moment ago. Upon hearing that, Axle suddenly regretful. He remembered what he said earlier to her. He rubbed his head, gathering enough courage to lower his pride.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” he uttered in a low voice, with a sombre face. Tamira turned her head towards him, puzzled with what he just said and why he said it. Axle noticed this and clarified. “About being a lowlife and all.”

“Oh, that,” Tamira almost laughed when she was reminded of it. Truthfully the whole incident today made her completely forget about it. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard before.” Though she seemed to have no hard feelings about it, Axle was still troubled and he sighed heavily. After a second or two of thinking of what to say, he spoke out again.

“It doesn’t make it right. I should apologize,” he said, keeping his eyes down, feeling shameful. Tamira stared at him for a while, letting the silence pass while she tried to read his face. Eventually, she understood his sincerity.

“Alright,” she responded with a softer voice and nodded in acceptance. Axle looked up to her and felt glad that she wasn’t upset about it. He finally drank the beer in his hand after the relief of apologizing. They sat quietly for a moment.

“So what are you doing in this city anyway?” Tamira asked out of the blue. “I’ve never seen you around here.” Axle glanced at her, aware that he had forgotten about his troubles before. He looked down, closing his eyes and sighed.

“Family thing. And I was out for a drive to get away from it,” he answered in a low voice, feeling gloomy.

“That bad, huh?” Tamira remarked, trying to lighten the situation but she noticed that he was way off deep into his mind, with a solemn expression on his face. She quickly turned away and sipped her drink, not knowing whether she should inquire any further.

“I might quit this season.”

Axle’s sudden revelation managed to grab her attention immediately, making her turn her head so fast it almost gave her neck a cramp.

“What? Why?” Tamira asked, baffled. Of all people who was still in the RGP, she didn’t expect Axle to be the first to throw in the towel.

“I’ve been doing this for almost six years. My father has taken notice of that. He wants me to retire while I’m still on top, and think about stability in life. All that, you know,” Axle explained.

“Do you want to?” Tamira asked, after a moment of hesitancy. Axle didn’t answer immediately, and stared ahead with an intense expression, as if trying to look for the answers.

“I don’t know,” he replied, uncertain. “All this time, I thought getting fame and recognition would be enough for him to get off my back, or at least be proud of what I did. But he never really cared about racing and as he once said, it’s not up to his standards of what our family should be.”

Tamira felt sympathy for him and didn’t know what to say. She didn’t understand much about familial issues since she lacked experience in it. She sipped her beer and tried to think of something else to say. She smirked, almost snorting when something came up in her mind.

“I mean, you could be a model or an actor. You’re not that bad on the eyes,” she remarked, with a mixture of cynical and genuine tone to her voice. Axle turned to her in surprise, wondering if it was a joke. But he was amused by it regardless.

“Flattered, but not interested,” he responded in his usual serious voice, but she could see a small smile forming.

“Then, why did you choose to race?” She let out a question that was stuck on her mind, for quite a long time actually.

She didn’t know much about Axle even though she had known him since they started racing in the RGP a few years ago. Or maybe they didn’t bother to get to know each other because they were too focused on the competition. Axle stared at her, trying to come up with whatever answer he could find in his head about racing and his experience with it. He turned away, took a sip of the drink and put the glass down on the counter. After a few seconds, he finally answered.

“When I’m behind the wheel, I feel free. From everything. I don’t have to think about making friends. My family. The pressure to live up to them and their rich lives. I just drive,” Axle explained as best as he could. Tamira listened, leaning her head on her knuckles with her elbow rested on the counter as she kept her eyes on him.

“Winning’s great and all, but it’s more exhilarating to race against someone who’s just as good as you,” he told her with a subtle excitement in his voice. However, his mood suddenly changed when another person popped up in his mind. He looked down and sighed, feeling heavy hearted to discuss what was going to come out of his mouth next.

“I know you guys don’t like King-“

“That’s an understatement,” Tamira disrupted him before he could continue, with a glare visible in her eyes. Axle didn’t react to her comment, and tried his best to continue with what he was going to say.

“Because of him, I did manage to get into professional racing. King was an influential figure at the time and it was enough to convince my father to allow me to enter. So I owed him a lot for that. You have to understand,” he sounded as if he was trying to defend King, which didn’t sit well with Tamira.

“I guess you owe him a lot for rigging the outcome too, right?” she responded pessimistically. Axle sighed, dreading this conversation that he expected would have been brought up sooner or later.

“I admit, the first time I won, it felt good. I thought I’d earned it. But when it happened again and again, it became less satisfying. The whole thing made me lose all what I love about it. It became something that had nothing to do with actual racing,” he explained as honestly as he could, feeling remorse for his actions. Tamira didn’t really buy his explanation that much and just kept staring at him with a serious look.

“It wasn’t until Tag joined and you guys worked together to disassemble everything that it made me feel something for the sport again. Something good,” Axle muttered, a small smile visible on his face. Tamira’s hardened heart slowly crumbled a little when she heard that. His smile disappeared a few moments later though.

“I never wanted things to turn out like they did,” he sighed. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll consider quitting-”

“No, no,” Tamira interrupted, which startled him and made him stop talking. She realized what she did and rubbed her temples with frustration.

“You’re a great racer. And you love it. I don’t have the right to take that away,” Tamira told him, albeit a little reluctantly. She wasn’t one to give out compliments to anyone, let alone a rival like Axle. He rested his elbows on the surface of the counter, studying her face to see if she was truthful about what she just said. But he knew she wasn’t one to lie face-to-face.

“You really think so?” He asked with a friendlier tone, smiling as he rested his chin on his knuckles, leaning in as he looked at her. She flashed a smile, humoured by his reaction.

“It’s always never too late to get back on the right path,” she told him sincerely. He smiled, feeling comforted with her reaction.

“What about you?” He suddenly asked. “Why do you race?”

Tamira was surprised with the question, especially coming from him, who she assumed probably didn’t care about anyone but himself. She stared ahead, sipping her drink and thought for a moment about what she should answer. Eventually she thought of one.

“I guess it’s the same as you. It made me feel free... In a way, it’s an escape for me. From this place that I grew up in,” she answered, looking blankly into space as if she was remembering something. 

“It’s funny. All I ever wanted was to leave this city for good. But even after joining the RGP and making enough to start a new life somewhere else, I find myself coming back here,” she said, smiling about the irony of her situation. She turned to him.

“I don’t know much about your problem. All I can say is, do it for yourself. Not for your family, or anyone else,” she advised him, but it also sounded like an appeal. She didn’t want a great racer, a fierce competitor to quit just like that early on in his career because of a useless reason. Axle smiled at her, feeling grateful for her counsel.

“Thanks,” he replied with just a short answer of course, but in a friendly tone. He actually kind of figured that out by himself, but to have someone else say it, let alone Tamira who was one of his rivals in the sport that he loved, really solidified his decision more and more.

Both of them remained silent afterwards, drinking their beer out of their glasses, sitting as they take in the atmosphere of the pub. Axle scoffed as he looked around at the place and its patrons.

“This place must be nicer than it looks, if it’s good enough for you to come back over and over again,” he commented. Tamira wasn’t sure if he was making fun of her or if he was just making a light joke and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Please, a high-maintenance guy like you wouldn’t last five minutes living here,” she fired back with her own comment. Axle frowned, but he was still in good humour about it.

“You can trade places with me if you want. Mingle with all those rich people at dinner parties,” he joked. Tamira widened her eyes, and processed what he had just said. She sighed heavily, with a frown.

“You know what, that’s okay. I don’t think I’ll last thirty seconds.”

She stared at him with a pitiful look in her eyes and he looked back with a serious expression. After a good three seconds, they couldn’t keep it in and smiled, even letting out a laughter, albeit a quiet, shy one. They settled down, and looked at the opposite ends of the bar, away from each other.

“You know, it’s really nice talking to you like this,” Tamira muttered under her breath, as if trying to conceal her words. But Axle heard her and felt a rush of warm emotion inside. Something that so rarely happens. He felt inclined to return her words.

“Likewise.”


	8. THE END OF A BEGINNING

After almost an hour at the pub, Tamira and Axle were finally done with their drinks and chat. They exited through the front entrance and walked back side by side towards her bike. Axle checked his watch on his wrist and it was nearly 2.30AM. It was quite late for him to be out at this time of night, but he managed to stay awake until now. It was only after stepping out of the pub that his body caught up with the exhaustion and he started to feel his eyes drooping.

“They’re not closing yet?” He asked, referring to the pub as he fought off a yawn when they reached her bike.

“Nah, most places that open at night here stay open until morning,” Tamira answered as she opened the seat compartment and took out her helmet.

She looked over to Axle who was staring at the ground and noticed that he looked excruciatingly tired, with his eyes half closed and looking drained of any light. She decided that they should really just end their day there.

“So, you want a lift back home?” She offered. He suddenly looked a little more alive. Although inside his mind, he was feeling more dread rather than relief.

“I’d rather be anywhere else, to be honest,” he told her, with a sigh but there was a smile on his face as well, strangely.

Tamira stared at him, wondering why he was reluctant to return. But then she remembered the things he mentioned about his family and understood the reason eventually. She shifted her eyes around on the ground, thinking about what she should say. Eventually, an offer popped up in her mind.

“Wanna spend the night at my place?”

It was so unexpected that it woke Axle up temporarily and he looked at her, stunned. Tamira realized a second later what she just said and felt a rush of embarrassment. But she felt it was a little too late to retract it and decided to just wait for his answer. She half expected him to just brush it off with a joke.

“I guess that would be okay, if you don’t mind,” to her surprise, Axle accepted the offer. To be fair, he answered slowly, as if unsure with the decision himself.

“No, not at all,” she shook her head and felt a little hazy over the exchange.

They stared at each other’s eyes for a while, trying to process what had just happened. Eventually, she smiled at him, feeling both shy and smug and got on the bike, putting her helmet on. Axle followed suit and got on the back seat, wrapping his arms around her waist and they rode off.

__________

**_Present day…_ **

“WHAT? That’s it?!”

Tag’s loud, hyper voice can be heard echoing throughout the garage. His eyes looked wild and he was unsatisfied with the conclusion of the story. Miles was closing his ears with his palms after hearing him yell and got irritated. Riq was on the other side of the screen, raising his eyebrows in bemusement over Tag’s reaction.

“That’s all she told me, I suppose,” he said with uncertainty. Truth be told, he didn’t know why Tag was invested in this story but regardless, he would tell whatever story that would please his son’s curiosity.

“But- but what happened at her place? Do you have any idea?” Tag questioned as he shifted his eyes in a frenzy.

“Use your imagination, kid,” Riq playfully answered with a smirk.

“EXCUSE ME?!!”

Tag reacted even more aggressively, slamming the table with his hands, his face looking the most shocked so far. A sound and a flash distracted him as he looked to his right and saw Miles with his Polaroid camera, chuckling as the photograph was printed out. He grabbed the photo and fanned it up and down as the picture slowly showed.

“That’s definitely going in the collection,” Miles snickered as he put the photograph away in his pocket. Tag frowned at him, not appreciating his jokes.

“Just messing with you, Tag,” Riq held back his laughter as he calmed him down. Tag felt even more annoyed, pouting and crossing his arms like a child who was sulking. Miles ignored his overreaction and shifted his attention to Riq on the screen.

“Anyway, I guess it’s nice that Tamira has made Axle open up about his own life. It might make Axle more inclined to help us with stopping the Ringmasters. He possibly knows more than us, working with King and all,” Miles explained, which irritated Tag, since he had been hearing the same thing from the others too.

“I know, I know,” he sighed, giving up on his quest for answers.

“Remember, Tag,” Riq interrupted, which got Tag’s attention. “Because of you, we’re one step closer to stopping all this corruption and power play in the RGP for good, and finally get a clean sport for racers to compete in. You’re changing people, Tag. People like Axle, who lost their heart in the sport and found it again. You should be proud of yourself for that, aside from your racing accomplishments of course.”

“Thanks, dad.”

Tag smiled, finally feeling better for himself. When he thought about it, things certainly did change a lot since he joined and a lot has happened, good and bad. To have Axle join their team and possibly become his friend would completely elate him. Maybe the latter would be too much of a fantasy, but he could dream, couldn’t he?

“Anyway, it’s getting late,” Riq stated, as he took a look at something off camera, presumably a clock. “You guys should get some rest. Though, that was a nice story time session.” Riq laughed, but Tag felt a little dejected upon having to say goodbye to his father once again.

“I wish we can meet up,” Tag expressed his sentiments which resonated with Riq who felt the same.

“I’ll ask Miles if he can try smuggle me in a box again,” Riq joked with a smile, but his serious façade quickly returned. “But I’ve gotta keep maintaining a low profile, at least until all this blows over.”

“Alright,” Tag reluctantly agreed, with a sigh. “Take care, dad.”

“You too. And good luck in the new season, Tag,” Riq wished him and turned off his end of the broadcast, leaving a black, empty screen on the tablet.

Both Tag and Miles let out a heavy sigh and stayed silent for a moment. They felt exhausted after a long day: coming back to the Ark, the press conference and the lounge party. Tag started to yawn and stretched his arms out. Miles patted his back, in a comforting way.

“Cheer up, kid. There’s always plenty of fish in the sea,” Miles commented jokingly and walked away with a fit of chuckle, leaving Tag to groan in irritation.

__________

It was nearly 11PM at the Ark. After leaving his room, Axle went to the newly renovated observatory deck to get some air, clearing his mind in the process. A large chunk of the ceiling was taken out and replaced with glass roof overlooking the sky above. On the ground, there was a big island section with cushioned seats framing the inner circle that had vegetation right in the middle. There were a few other smaller versions right beside the main one, so it was an ideal place for people to just sit and enjoy the view of the sky as they fly over the clouds.

Axle was sitting in the main island on the cushion seat, with the backrest leaning slightly at an angle towards the back, so people sitting could enjoy sky watching without putting a strain on their neck as they look up. Fortunately, the weather was clear that night so it was a scenic view with stars splashed across the sky.

“Can’t sleep?”

He heard a familiar voice greeting him. He turned his attention to his left and saw Tamira standing with her hands on her hips, with a gentle but serious look on her face. He looked back to the front and closed his eyes, smiling in amusement.

“Nah, I’m just sleepwalking,” he responded sarcastically. Tamira sat down right next to him and crossed her arms, feeling entertained.

“It’s a good thing I’m here to save you from falling overboard,” she responded back with her own joke. Axle felt amused, turning to her and leaning towards her.

“Have you always made this many jokes?” He playfully asked.

“No, you just bring out the worst in me,” she answered back and they both chuckled in amusement between each other, as quietly as they could, of course. After settling down, Tamira leaned against the backrest and looked up at the sky as well.

“Are you ready for the new season?” She asked. Axle glanced at her for a moment, before looking down.

“To be honest, I’m kind of nervous,” Axle stated, staring at the ground. “But yeah, I am.” They were both silent for a moment, before he spoke again.

“Thanks for the talk before,” he said as he turned to her. “At the pub. It really helped.” Tamira stared at him for a while and felt flattered and humbled that she was able to affect him in any way.

“It was a good night for both of us,” she replied, with a knowing look in her eyes.

Axle took a moment to smile at her but afterwards, something else appeared inside. He looked away, with a grave look in his eyes. As if realizing what he was doing was wrong and Tamira noticed this. She sighed, closing her eyes and thinking heavily on what to say.

“It’s fine to have friends, Axle,” she finally said with a comforting tone.

“Are we friends?”

Tamira leaned away from him, taken aback by how distrustful he sounded. He looked at her, and all she could see was a tense, serious face. Inside, he felt as if he wasn’t deserving of her nice behaviour towards him. In fact, thinking about it, he was astounded she treated him well for this long. Tamira on the other hand, didn’t know how to answer his question.

“What is it that you want from me, Tamira?” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looked ahead, trying his best to avoid eye contact with her. “Information about King? I hate to let you down, but I have no idea where he is since he left.” Tamira didn’t say anything, but she felt slightly offended by his assumptions.

“I don’t care about that,” she responded defensively. “As far as I know, he can stay away from the RGP.”

“Then what other reason do you have to keep talking to me? After all this time that we’ve never spoken to each other? After what I got involved in?” He turned and looked at her with a scornful look. His eyes had some level of intensity in them, as he tried to pry more and more to her intentions. That was it for Tamira and she had enough. She stood up, holding back from becoming furious over the conversation.

“Maybe I just want to get close to you because I want to. If you trust others more, you wouldn’t be alone all the time,” she answered with a louder voice, trying her best to keep calm but there was some anger inside.

Despite her own personal feelings, she understood why Axle felt that way, but she wished that he’d ignore those thoughts inside and took a chance to make a connection with someone else. After a moment, she suddenly realize how much Axle reflected her past self before she met Tag and let out a small sigh, feeling bad about how she was reacting.

Axle on the other hand, was affected by her words and how genuine and hurt she sounded. He felt a lot of regret and shame for questioning her kindness towards him. After giving him a cold glare, she turned back to leave him alone. But before she could take another step, Axle grabbed her wrist, firmly but gently.

“I’m sorry. Stay,” he told her in a low voice, staring at her with an apologetic look in his eyes.

Tamira stared at him for a while, debating with herself whether she should just let it go. But she saw how regretful he was and sighed, giving up on her anger. She returned to sit next to him and they both looked right ahead of them, each letting out a long exhale.

“I guess we’re all a little messed up, huh?” she remarked, trying to make light of the situation.

“Yeah,” Axle replied, even letting out a scoff of amusement. He felt more relaxed and leaned back against backrest, putting his arm back around where Tamira was. She turned to him, leaning closer and tilting her head, feeling relief from the negative tension they had just now.

“Friends?”

Axle stared back into her eyes, thinking back on that night at her place. He admitted to himself that it was a great night. He smiled, with nothing else to say other than,

“Friends.”


End file.
